ToughButterCup

On the M6 going past J33? (Lancaster) Thinking about ICF? PM me.

Thanks very much for starting this thread. Made me think: my hands are only going to get worse (Dupuytren's Contracture) , the images - and the links - you posted are very useful Thanks.

How would you know that they had started the consultation process?

At Harris Towers?

How about just leaving it and letting it rot down eh? Much safer.

They still have to pass TUV. Which makes me think that there's something amiss with the QA ....

Thank God someone - anyone - questions the primacy of the Teuton. My experience of German products is not uniformly good within Germany . But for export - different matter. One of the principal factors for me is my knowledge and understanding of the German QA system (TUV). The system is (was when I had experience of it - VW emissions ?) rigourous. I am not in a position to be able to compare one company's offering against another in any sophisticated way: we chose mostly - boringly - on country of manufacture. Stupidly really because German manufacturers never miss the opportunity to mention that their product is made in Germany. We spent about a year looking at several manufacturers: Velfac, Gaulhofer, Internorm. We fitted Gaulhofer (Austrian) windows. I'm fiddling about with the window reveals at the moment, and therefore looking closely at how they are built. The hinges: solid, well designed. Smooth as silk. High quality steel (well it looks high quality) . The ability to adjust individual door hinges - in and out, up and down - all I need is two screw drivers and a bit of muscle. Little things like clearly explained instructions on use, beautifully grained wood - straight, excellent finish. A huge 4 meter window which glides across the runner - one finger pushes a tonne (?) along the track. The track wheels have brushes which sweep the track : I have got down on hand and knees to check how well it does so because nobody other than me cares about keeping the track clean. Treble seals - I have no experience of why treble seals are better - I just assumed that three is better than two. Glass doors that have that VW clunk: they 'feel' solid. The locking system looks as if the TUV (QA) inspectors had eaten gravel for breakfast. I am well aware that my detailed experience of German products is perhaps out of date. I am glad that you have the gumption to poke at the halo that surrounds some German products: German manufacturers badly need to rebuild their reputation.

Thanks @redtop. Simplicity is where it's at (man)

Top marks for posting this thread. Takes a bit of guts to post an error of judgement this size....... You are young, fit keen and have loads of energy. By the time you finish sorting everything out, you'll be older, wiser, more cautious and knackered. Just like most of the commenters on this this thread. May I suggest you use a sharpened chain saw blade?

Whatever was on the floor when I picked them up and gave them to someone who knew what he was doing ?

?

Eeeeeeeewwwww, ?

There's a false ceiling going under these POSIs, so that should be fine. Thanks!

Just starting to put our cable runs in....? 'Nother adventure ahead. 10mm cable is beefy innit? Never seen any til today. Well any'ow, does it need to be clipped to the bottom chord (top of) of each POSI? Thanks.... Ian

- you smash your Piggery door in. Here's how..... First, you dig trench for a land drain next to your house because the original company forgot to put in that bit of land drain. Then you discover why they didn't do that bit of the land drain : it needs to be deep enough to pass under the foundation of a (non structural) wall connecting our house to the Piggery. Being a little more devious than I was at the beginning of the build, I wait til my son comes over on holiday. Fit lad..... From Canada. Backwoodsman, Tree Planter, muscles coming out of his wee-wee. 'Ere, sunshine dig this trench for us would ya? Yeah, I'll tidy up the mess you make with the digger, dad. Hmm, cheeky. Trench dug.... "Where's this trench going dad?" Under the foundation which you've just hit. OK, Snarl, hiss 20 minutes later, There y'are. That was quick Just needs a bit of tinkering with...... He'd smashed his way through under the foundation with an iron bar and his bare hands - hit a pile (column of compacted stone) and right enough was through the other side. Know how to lay a land drain, then? Yo, ahm 'ahn it man (oh the affectations of the Young: he left speaking normal Queens English) From a distance I watched the fabric lining going in, the pebbles, the pipe. All was well. You can back-fill it all now. No sooner said than done. Debbie casts an eye at the work done and casually asks - "Why is a couple of inches of an iron bar poking out of the other side of the wall?" The little sod had buried my iron bar in the trench under the foundation. And left just enough visible to remind me that it was there. Took an hour to dig out. He's back in Canada now.

Worry for myself, no. It's our grandchildren's experience that concerns me. Maybe, just maybe the house standard to which most of us on BH build will be more common when they think about self building?

Am I glad that's a joke ... it is a joke right? No, really - it's a joke innit?

A few threads ago, when I reported moderate stress - and just a bit of depression. On the basis of the feedback, I determined to have a regular day off. Family can only help when they too have days off. Bang goes my day off - and I suspect yours (and many of ours) too. To come back to your main question: how long does it take to sort out the inside? It depends principally, I think on the amount of focused support you can recruit. Neither of us can do it all on our own.

Exactly the same dilemma. Our outside has been weathering for two full years now and only leaks in two - well maybe three - places. Every time I step back from the inside job in hand, I feel almost guilty about the outside jobs I should have been doing . I have no excuse for sleep

That factor - I am assuming I will experience the same enthusiasm peak and wane curve - gives pause for thought. Use it or lose it : but, bike-like, I assume that once taught, I'll not forget. And so I'll always have that ''tool" in my tool bag.

I am trying to decide which of welding course I should take; TIG, MIG or MMA ? Lancaster and Morecambe College offer evening courses starting this September (£625). Can't wait. I'd just like to be able to weld bits back on to my Land Rover, or make fairly simple things like a basic tool to twist thin steel bar. Really simple stuff: nothing like @Onoff-level refined bits of kit . I have a Stick Welder which can be used as a gas welder..... not used it much - kind of busy recently.

Redrafted using almost the same text: The Consumer Code for Home Builders (“the Code”), which came into effect in April 2010, applies to all Home Builders registered with the UK’s main new Home Warranty Bodies. They are NHBC; Premier Guarantee; LABC Warranty and Checkmate . Those companies subscribe to the 19 Requirements and principles that Home Builders must meet in their marketing and selling of Homes and their after-sales customer service. Not Sir Humphrey. More the effect of illiteracy, and simple carelessness.

That trauma is done. Good to see someone else facing the same issue.

@craig, anything you can do to help?

Thanks for the advice given here Surprisingly I have got round to filling them this afternoon. Wonders never cease. The holes in the slab are lined with Polypipe. Am I right in thinking that the Polypipe should be removed before I back-fill them with concrete?